fault line
Americannoun
noun
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Also called: fault plane. geology the surface of a fault fracture along which the rocks have been displaced
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a potentially disruptive division or area of contention
Europe remains the main fault line in the Tory Party
Etymology
Origin of fault line
First recorded in 1865–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Playing a childless, vain, pitch-perfect vision of Los Angeles’ wickedness in “Maps to the Stars,” Julianne Moore mothered so hard she almost separated California right down the San Andreas fault line.
From Salon • May 10, 2026
In Moerdijk, that dilemma is no longer abstract; it's immediate, and it is set to reshape the lives of Jaco, Andrea, Jacques and everyone living on the fault line of the green transition.
From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026
The episode exposed a fault line in Silicon Valley between engineers who viewed autonomous targeting as an ethical red line and defense officials who saw it as essential.
From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026
The fault line exposed now is that private credit is being offered to retail investors and wealthy individuals whose liquidity preferences are different from sophisticated, more patient institutional investors.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 26, 2026
The fault line spreads and reaches my heart.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
